By Dineen Johnson
Group Behavior is defined as a small or large amount of people and the way they act among one another. Crowds, Mobs and Gangs all show group behavior. These groups may act a certain way to achieve a goal together and individually there actions differ when they are alone.
Flash Mobs began several years ago, where large groups would gather on the street for art, dancing and impromptu. These groups were linked through social sites such as Facebook, MySpace and text messaging. They were once innocent but today have taken a turn for the worse. Today hundreds of uncontrollable teens that sprint the downtown streets assaulting pedestrians, vandalizing, fighting and rioting are what make up the "new" Flash Mob. This type of group behavior alters the teenagers attitude and behavior causing them to act out.
Actions have been enforced such as curfew, holding the parents legally responsible for their children's actions and making free transit passes for students invalid after school hours to limit the teens ability to ride downtown. Unfortunately, with all this enforcement there is a high possibilty that this may not work because of the lack of respect and obedience from our youth.
The LA Riots is also an example of group behavior. Riots evolve from simple crowds to caotic masses. These masses give individuals a false feeling of strenghth and invisibility. This large group of people were all feeling the same emotion of betrayal and anger. The beating of Rodney King was the reason for these people coming together and acting out. Normally people don't want others to see them act out or commit crimes but in large numbers the mentality is different.
I guess everything is OK as long as everyone else is doing it!
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